Somaliland: International Recognition In Focus

Since the birth of a new state in Africa, Southern
Sudan, on the 9th of July 2011, Somaliland´s belated
international recognition has come to a sharper focus.
No doubt, the official invitation and presence of the
democratically elected President of Somaliland, Mr.
Ahmed Mohamed Moha mud "Silaanyo" at the inaugural
celebrations in Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan,
played a ke y role.
Much like Southern Sudan, Somaliland hopes to join the
international community as an independ ent and sovereign
state. Unlike Southern Sudan, Somaliland was briefly an
independent and so vereign state for five days between
June 26th and July 1, 1960, before joining with newly
inde pendent Italian Somaliland to create the now defunct
Somali Republic.
The union between Somaliland and Italian Somaliland was
not ratified by a national referendum and subsequently,
after thirty years of an unbalanced and unjust union
culminating in a civil in the late 1980´, Somaliland
restored its sovereignty on May 18th, 1991. Therefore
one could ar gue that Somaliland has more of a legal
claim to international recognition than Southern Sudan,
Kosovo, or many other recently recognized states.
But, there are no sour grapes on behalf of the people of
Somaliland, who universally celebrate with their
brothers and sisters in Southern Sudan on their newly
attained independence and s overeignty and along with it
a sense of freedom, justice and peace.
We in Somaliland also await the day of our international
recognition. Which brings me back to the topic of this
article, to be or not to be recognized?
To the majority of Somalilanders, as far as they are
concerned, Somaliland is an independent and sovereign
state. Somaliland has its destiny in its own hands. It
is a democratic, inclusive and tolerant state in an
otherwise dangerous corner of the world.
There is, in Somaliland, a new generation of citizens
who have come of age knowing only Somali land, and they
are the future of the country. For them, the defunct
Somali Republic has no rel evance; it is a chapter in the
history books, which requires their awareness, but not
their alle giance.
Since 1991, Somaliland has overcome many obstacles, from
rebuilding a shattered nation, both physically and
mentally, to creating stability through a unique formula
of dialogue, discussion and consensus, which continues
to this day. Yet, this small and poor nation refuses to
rest on its considerable achievements, because, both its
citizens and political leadership are aware, th at all
the gains Somaliland have made must be nurtured and
protected.
Somaliland and its citizens have made it crystal clear
that the issue of political independence and sovereignty
is sacrosanct. There is not turning back. Somalis across
the region and all over the world will always have
social, cultural and economic ties, but not political
ties. We have all been down that road before, and it has
led to death and destruction.
Having said that, the people of Somaliland would like to
see south and central Somalia come out of the two
decades of anarchy and mayhem, whole. Somalilanders
would like to see justice, tol erance, inclusiveness and
democracy prevail in a region which has become
synonymous with, warlords, intolerance, injustice,
terrorism and piracy.
In the two decades since reclaiming sovereignty,
Somaliland has been a model for all the peopl e of the
Horn of Africa, Africa as a whole and the international
community. No one is claiming that Somaliland is
perfect, far from it. There are many hurdles still to
overcome, but, there is no doubt that Somaliland is a
beacon of success in the region.
We in Somaliland recognize ourselves as an independent
and sovereign nation, and will always do so. If our
brothers and sisters in Africa and the Arab world
continue to shun our claims, so be it. If the
international community continues to hold Somaliland
hostage to the never ending situation in south and
central Somalia, so be it. But, with each passing day,
Somaliland continu es to build a strong, stable and
resolute nation.
One thing is certain, independence and
self-determination is not only real, it is also a state
of mind. Somaliland awaits and demands international
recognition. It has been fifty years since S omaliland
emerged from British colonial rule, it has been twenty
since restoration of sovereig nty, and if international
recognition takes another century, Somaliland and its
citizens will rem ain steadfast.
Ahmed Kheyre
July 12, 2011 |
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